Monday, August 27, 2012

I made a summer checklist and take a look...I think we did pretty well.

(Note Palmer's contributions to the summer to-do list at the bottom of the board! Thanks for the scribbles, Palmer. I'm sure mom is going to have a heck of a time trying to explain that it's okay to write on one wall in the house, but none of the other walls.)

Another sign that summer is over?

Palmer's last day in the infant room at school:

My, how he's come since his first day in this classroom. (Rick will be sure to poke fun at me and note that Palmer's sure to know his initials since they are on both outfits! All that silliness just goes in one of my ears and out the other... ha!)

We loved the dear teachers in the infant room and thank them for all of their guidance during the first year.
-Bethany

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Cousin Elle and Palmer are 15 months apart and becoming great playmates. My sister-in-law, Amanda, and I schemed a weekend to get them together (and subsequently a night off for each of us) by Elle visiting us one night and Amanda's family keeping Palmer the next night.

Let me start out by sending a shout out to all of my friends with more than one child. Whoa. Bless you each and every day.

When Palmer and Elle weren't fighting over the same race car or the same stuffed bunny rabbit or the same book, they had lots of giggles and silly time together.

Palmer especially liked to spit raspberries so that Elle could tell Palmer, "Palmer, you are gross!" Apparently "gross" was Palmer's intent because her reaction only encouraged him to laugh gleefully and continue to do it again and again and again.

I tricked them into a "fun" activity of washing Boston. (Notice poor Boston is nowhere to be seen in these photos!) Old-fashioned fun with the water hose:

Rick got a kick out of our car loaded with two car seats in the back, for some reason:

What to do with two squirmy kids on a hot summer night? Take them for a ride on a golf cart, of course!

And then feed them Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes at the neighborhood greasy spoon the next morning:

Elle, come visit us anytime. We are so glad to have you in our lives!
-Bethany

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

My dear sister, Samantha, moved to DC over the weekend. We’re proud of her for transferring within her company but we’re all the more sad because she took
residence in our home over the summer. We got very very used to having
Samantha around.

When Samantha’s
apartment lease expired in May, she needed a place to stay for a few months. We loved having her (and her
chocolate chip cookies) in the house despite the fact that she took over not
one, but TWO upstairs guest bedrooms. And it goes without saying that Palmer just adores his Aunt Samantha.

Palmer often liked to play with her makeup
and hair brushes while she got ready in the morning and was a little confused when he went
into an empty room this morning.

The moving truck arrived Saturday morning and Palmer couldn’t
believe his luck that a real-live truck came to his house. Whoa.
The boy was in heaven.

Even better, the moving truck's ramp was perfect for driving tractors.

PawPaw taught Palmer how to say, "Go!" and race the tractor down the ramp.

Unfortunately, this new word, "Go!", now applies when I am driving. Palmer yells from the back row carseat, "Go!". Um, yes sir...

I’m hoping Samantha's move will be for just a few short years and Palmer
and I are already looking forward to our planned trip to visit her in September.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Last weekend, we visited the resort for the first time since the wedding...this time, plus one.

And (sadly), I don't mean Boston.

"Hey, guys!"

Our dear friends, Brian and Sara (and their daughter Maggie), joined us from Cincinnati for the long weekend.

Sweet little Maggie and Palmer had such a fun time playing together. Many people at the resort thought the two kids were siblings. I can't imagine why with those matching blonde curls.

We had such a good trip and joked that our vacations have gone from dinner at 8pm/a night out on the town to dinner at 5:30pm/a night in the resort room watching the Olympics and eating ice cream.

The weekend was spent changing from wet bathing suits to dry bathing suits. With a plethora of swimming pools and lakefront beaches to choose from, we swam morning til night. (What else can you do in 105 degree weather?)

Uncle Luke and Holly popped over to visit one afternoon. Palmer thinks that Luke is just so much fun with his special tricks:

The resort schedule was packed with a ton of kid-friendly evening activities. Roasting s'mores and playing around on the Great Lawn was a big hit.

And when we ventured beyond the resort, it was only for the finest hill country grub.